


Between Lines

by anthemsfortheunderdog



Category: Our Life: Beginnings & Always (Visual Novel)
Genre: College, M/M, Mental Anguish, Partners to Lovers, Slice of Life, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25636435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthemsfortheunderdog/pseuds/anthemsfortheunderdog
Summary: Cove could be unintentionally cruel sometimes. As much as he tried to not be childish, he was more scared than anything. Now in their early twenties, Gareth always wore his heart on his sleeve. An unexpected trip with his older sister took him back to memories and a love interest that still burned like the fires of the sun.------Comments are enabled, yet moderated. Work is open to constructive criticism and positive comments.
Relationships: Cove Holden/Main Character
Kudos: 12





	1. The Stylist

He smelled like he always did. The faint aroma of the ocean that lingered off Gareth was more than likely a product he received while he studied in a nearby city. While Gareth enjoyed being social and learning new techniques, nothing was more missed than the place he had known for most of his youth, Sunset Bird.

Elizabeth knew early on that Gareth would do really good at the profession of Hair and Makeup. Usually she bullied him into something, yet for once the two siblings saw eye to eye on an idea.

Gareth ended up with much more than just a hair and makeup job. In fact, many were so impressed with his down to earth attitude that he ended up doing multiple jobs and sometimes missed sleep more than usual.

That wasn't the only thing Gareth ended up with. Workshops for those interested in the business only made his days busier, yet it became a lonely life. Crying to his older sister on the phone one evening, Elizabeth could hear the heartache in Gareth's voice. He was tired, exhausted, and missed being able to just hold a conversation that didn't involve lighting, shadowing or layers.

Little did he realize that Elizabeth knew exactly what he needed as she picked his sorry butt up from his apartment complex and blindfolded her younger brother to take him away from the building of his public life. "Stop trying to peek, moron." Gareth hadn't been intentionally even trying as Elizabeth swatted his arm. The twenty-something jumped lightly, "I was getting sunglasses! Not to mention, ease up on the slaps! I was hoping for a hug."

There was a brief, warm embrace of his older sister as Elizabeth gave Gareth a hug. "There. Happy?" His nose scrunched up as he evaluated the hug, all before his sister swatted his shoulder. "WHAT?! I DID NOTHING!" Elizabeth lightly giggled before turning the car's ignition. Gareth put an arm to the side of the car to have his hand locate the seat belt.

The car ride to wherever Elizabeth was taking him for the weekend was as pleasant as it could be with a blindfold. All the while with Gareth inquiring if it was possibly the new amusement park, or just the library, or maybe even Elizabeth's place. "What new thing did they throw at you to try?"

"Why? Do you like it?" Gareth turned to her voice, lightly adjusting the folds to make sure he wasn't peeking. "It's not bad, but the other one they had you try was better." Nodding to his sister, "Yeah, I'll admit that one was good. Sadly the price tag isn't. Not to mention this one really just reminds me of 'Bird', you know? It had that serene yet soft mix and it reminded me of the cool night setting in while the sand was still warm."

Gareth had hit on something he wasn’t aware of yet. The delayed response of his sister made it clear that something was up. "Yeah, I can see what you mean." The inflection in her voice had caught him, and Gareth made a swift move past the awkward conversation as he put his seat back. "Wait-" He craned himself up, "Mom is okay, right?"

"Gareth, she's fine. If she wasn't we wouldn't be doing what we're doing." He relaxed a bit. "Okay, good. Because the last thing I want is for us to be heading for a graveyard." The comment had Elizabeth swatting at her younger brother's lower abdomen. "Whoa! Whoa! Okay! Sensitive topic and sensitive area! Got it!" The both of them had a code for sensitive topics, and it usually ended up with prodding the other siblings tender area. The car ride had gotten quiet, and Gareth found himself drifting off of the random song that droned on the radio.

Hearing the car door shut, Gareth listened outside for any signs of where they could be. The soft roll of waves in the distance only meant that they were near the ocean. Could it be? No. He was imagining things. Craning the seat back up, the door beside him opened and he turned to hear Elizabeth's voice, as Gareth unbuckled himself. "So, as always we're going to play a game."

_Clue number one_. It had to do with when they were kids. Why else was he blindfolded? "Sounds good." Gareth nodded to his sister's voice. "Made this one up especially for you."

_Clue number two_. Elizabeth doing something for him wasn't necessarily far fetched, yet she knew what he was dealing with much more than anyone else he knew.

"It's called, hot or cold with twenty steps."

A partial groan exited as Gareth's head hit the back of the head rest. _Possibly Clue number three right there_ . _Here's hoping he didn't put his hands into a vat of scorpions for shits and giggles._ "Okay so when you get out of the car don't forget there's a curb when you get out and we'll go from there."

Ducking his head out of the car, Gareth let his shoe hit the curb. It was an angular hit, and the pavement sloped. "Am I hot or cold right now?"

"Don't worry about the door, I'll get the door." Elizabeth retorted as Gareth put his hand against it. "Oh, and you're...a _little_ warm."

He was uphill, not downhill. So it wasn't mom's place. His brain was buzzing with familiarity though. "I should know where I am, shouldn't I?" Elizabeth said nothing. While Gareth commented, there was a soft and breathy exhale nearby. To mask the noise, Elizabeth stood in front. "So if you if follow the sound of my voice you'll be hotter."

Gareth deflated, "How is that a rule?"

"Yeah," Cove broke his silence, in a shy agreement. "He's already hot."

"So much for surprises." She groaned.

Gareth's heartbeat sped up, looking for words as he took the sunglasses and blindfold off. "Surprise." Elizabeth mustered in sarcasm as the two of them looked to each other in astonishment. "Turns out after a couple of phone calls, I found out he was going to be home for the weekend." Cove looked rather surprised at Elizabeth as she smiled at Gareth. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hug him or something."

Gareth hesitated. Not because he didn't want to, but his sister made his weekend probably the most favorite weekend ever as Cove softly smiled and embraced Gareth. He returned the embrace to Cove, only much tighter as tears welled up in Gareth's eyes, giving Cove a loving kiss near the temple of his forehead.

"..I meant..Gareth to hug you, but. Whatever." She wrinkled her nose and let it go. "Dinner is at 8 but either way, they're not aware you're here yet. Just me so far. They go to bed at 11 so I'll make sure your old room window is open."

"Thanks." Gareth blurted out as he held out an arm to bring her in as well, the drying tears against his face only meant that it was hot outside. Elizabeth made for a quick hug and let her brother go back to the ultimate reason why she brought him here.

The texture of his hair was as it always had been, lightly coarse yet surprisingly silky further in. Gareth couldn't get enough of the feeling as he lost himself in this boy next door who was now the young man next door and Cove was just as bad for continuing the impromptu make out session in front of Holden's place.

Shockingly out of nowhere the alarm of Elizabeth's car rang out and startled the both of them. "My bad." She mentioned, "By the way you should get yourselves out of a public area before you start making out. We all know what happened last time."

"She's got a point." Gareth murmured as he wrapped his arms around Cove.


	2. Lips On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He broke it off with out ever saying why. It wasn't normal for Cove to say silent. Gareth had gone into training with a heartache that he felt no one could ever understand.

They knew each other for years. Cove wouldn’t have pulled Gareth forward if someone was home. The door hit the stopper, bouncing back from the amount of force. Neither of them were thinking straight as Gareth and Cove kissed each other long and hard, Gareth pressing into each kiss before Cove had to break for air, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against the wall. “ _Fuck_ , I forgot how good this felt.”

Gareth idly rested a hand on the wall before he closed the door, as Cove kept proclaiming through winded breaths. “Hell, I forgot how good **_you_ ** felt.” Cove’s hand balled up into a fist, much like the many times when he was frustrated as a child. Gareth wasn’t much taller than Cove was, looking into those aquamarine eyes that he could get lost in.

Cove snapped back to reality, looking to Gareth as he caught his breath. Flashing a brief smile before the guilt washed over him. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” Cove’s voice kept breaking in sections as Gareth listened. “I don’t know.” Nervously running a hand through his again as pained tears began to form behind Cove’s eyes.

“You know I love you, right? Even if you thought it was a good idea to end things before I left.” Gareth was somewhat stern and he could feel that Cove knew he had either done something incredibly stupid, or just felt the pangs of guilt. “I know, I just thought that you’d find someone and forget about me.”

“How the hell do you figure I would ever forget about you.” Gareth held Cove in his arms as Cove’s other fist rested against Gareth’s chest. “I’ve missed you more than you know.” Cove’s eyes blurred with tears as his arms shook to find their way around Gareth as the painful cries began. “I’m sorry. _I’m so sorry_.”

Gareth had been just as hurt by Cove, thinking that just because he was going into a career his sister had suggested meant he was going to leave everything behind him. Cove included. “I had hoped that with everything, and _I mean everything_. You’d know that of all people I’m not going to be the one to leave you in the dirt.” It’s all Gareth would say about it. Because as much as Cove didn’t get any punishment for things, it was another story for him.

Cove’s breathing shuddered as he could feel Gareth’s professional demeanor coming out in each word in a calm tone. He had changed, somewhat and while he may have wanted to do something entirely different, Gareth stepped away from Cove with a small and gentle smile. “In case you were wondering, I missed you too. The only thing I don’t miss is yet to be determined.”

As Cove’s hands slipped from Gareth’s shoulders, his right hand trailed Cove’s arm and threaded with his own before a light tug pulled Cove forward. Gareth’s muscle definition had stood out to Cove briefly as a breath hitched.

_Six months earlier Gareth had been given a chance to receive funding from a company that he worked with in order to continue learning. He also ended up being so lucky as not only winning the funding, that the advanced training only took in select candidates. Gareth had one shot for this. Cove figured they were done for at this point, and ended their relationship._

_It cut him deep for the first few weeks until one of the instructors who had met Gareth before he had moved finally inquired. In all honesty, Gareth had been incredibly heartbroken with Cove’s decision. It was as if someone had pulled out all of the life force Gareth had._

_The instructor understood, and placed a brush between Gareth’s fingers. “You are one of the most talented people I’ve met here, Gareth. I’m not here to feed you bullshit. It bites that someone you care about treated you like this, but don’t take it out on the chance that you’ve got. This career isn’t forgiving if you do a shit job. You do a shit job and you’ll end up on a blacklist. If this person truly cares about you? You’ll find that out eventually. But for now? Try to bring it out in your technique.”_

_Gareth took it to heart. If he wasn’t doing hair and makeup he had ended up with canvases that were littered with pieces of his past, aquamarine ended up somewhere in the painting. Much like an easter egg in a game it was always there, even in the darkest paintings._

“I need you to understand something, Cove.“ Gareth’s facial features had tensed to an area where his nerves couldn’t find solid ground, ”No matter how many times you let go of me. I will never, **_NEVER_ ** let you go.“

Bringing Cove’s hand to his lips, Gareth pressed them gently. “Gareth,” Cove’s eyes lowered in sadness. “I’ve made stupid mistakes. It’s nothing new with me. You should know that by now. I’ve tried thinking that being your boyfriend was just another one of those things, and I was wrong. I’ve been miserable ever since I made that mistake.”

Silence stung the room as Cove finally chalked up the nerve to speak again. “But I don’t want to just be your boyfriend anymore. Does that make sense?” Gareth’s jaw gawked at Cove. Eyes blinking like his ears had heard what he thought he just heard. “Would you prefer being called my partner or significant other?” Gareth couldn’t believe this, “Was that really what bothered you?” There was a shameful tone in Cove’s voice, as he looked away. “Kind of. Sounds a lot more grown up than ‘boyfriend’. It sounds more like a step away from being your husband.”

"Gareth?"

“GARETH!” _Everything had gone dark._ Cove made a valiant effort in trying to catch Gareth before he ended up on the living room floor. Cove quickly placed him on the floor and made sure his airways weren’t obstructed, then checked Gareth’s pulse. “Okay. He’s okay.”


	3. Victims of Schadenfreude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An accident had given Gareth quite a few concussions which left Cove worried.

_Days before Gareth left for school, Cove and Gareth had been surfing. While the waves were good, Gareth was still rather novice to surfing and Cove did what he could to give him pointers._ _Though through no fault of their own for being prepared, Gareth had ended up with a concussive blow to the head from his own surfboard which knocked him unconscious._

_Elizabeth had walked downstairs just in time to see her younger brother wipe out on his board. At first there was some amusement tickling in her mind before she could hear Cove yelling as Gareth hadn’t resurfaced. She sprinted out the door barefoot across the hot asphalt to hit the sand and the soft footing beneath her couldn’t take her fast enough._

_Cove finally located Gareth near an undercurrent and was unresponsive. The near platinum blond locks resurfaced along with Cove fighting some of the undertow as Elizabeth hit the shoreline. “Call 911!” Cove called out as his peripheral vision caught someone at the shore._

_The times she used to tease Gareth for being slow flashed by in a memory as Cove’s old weird answer was replaced with logic while she phoned 911 on her cell phone. As Cove brought Gareth ashore and to safety, he made certain none of his airways were blocked and checked for his pulse. Elizabeth was crying as she explained what had happened with one of their parents hitting the sand while Cove checked for Gareth to respond before he began to perform CPR._

Gareth’s blackout was more than likely a product of the concussion he had had roughly a few months earlier as his eyelids tightened, finding himself on the floor with Cove idly playing with Gareth’s hair. “Hey.”

“How long has this been happening?” This time it was Cove who was serious in tone and he should have known better than to not see repercussions of the surfing take wake. Gareth let out a sigh of frustration, mostly because he never thought of himself. “On and off, I guess.”

“What about the lacerations? Did you keep up with those?” Cove’s words were heated in a light irritated tone. Gareth’s hand lightly pushed against the floor to get himself up and found the lacerations on his body for the evidence Cove needed and didn’t bother saying a word.

Was it possible that someone could adapt as well as Gareth did to new places? Seven months of no texts, no phone calls, no video calls. Nothing. Cove checked the lacerations to see that they had healed well. “Not to be intentionally dramatic or anything Cove, but I can’t exactly wave a magic wand and hope that this concussion will go away.”

Cove scoffed as he got up to meet Gareth’s gaze. “Guess that makes the both of us victims of schadenfreude.” Unimpressed with that statement, Gareth spoke up. “The only person who I’ve ever known to even come close to that is you, Cove. That’s me speaking as your friend and your ex. You enjoyed that people worried about you when you ran away.”

“Don’t say that,” Cove’s emotions took hold, “I just wanted you to take the relationship seriously, I told you that!”

“8 months later? After stringing me out behind a Jeep and letting me bleed out? **EIGHT FUCKING MONTHS, COVE HOLDEN YOU ARE A VICTIM OF SCHADENFREUDE**.”

Gareth’s yelling pierced the air and seemed echo within the walls. His temper was flaring, and he closed his eyes. Allowing himself to breathe. “Friendship is a two way street. You want me back you’re going to have to figure yourself out before you want get between the lines again.” He swallowed hard, looking to Cove as there was a near fearful look in his aquamarine eyes.

“For now? We’re Ryan Reynolds in that one movie called Just Friends.” As much as it hurt, Gareth walked away and opened the door of the Holden’s home. “For now, I’m going over to see my parents. Give them something happy to see for the weekend.”

The light, yet warm scent Gareth wore had wafted into the Holden’s as the door shut. It caught against Cove’s breath as he followed Gareth home across the street. “You weren’t the only person who felt like they were dragged behind a Jeep. I grew up at your house too, you know.”


	4. Deceit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...It was a dream???

Gareth shot up from the passenger’s seat of Elizabeth’s car. Wind escaped his lungs as if someone had thrown a punch to his gut, as the seat belt reigned him back. The hum of the motor continued as the feeling of the interstate took him back to reality. It was a really lucid dream. “Pull over.”

“Why? We’re almost there.” Elizabeth snipped. “Because I’m going to fucking puke if you don’t pull over.” The stress had elevated in his system as they found a rest area and Gareth relieved his eyes of the blindfold, and ran out as far as he could before his stomach heaved. Blond locks became blurred within the nearby wheat field. He couldn’t spit up enough of the feeling in whatever breakfast could have been. Thankfully the rest area was quiet and shaded between the rural washroom facilities and the one vending machine that would only have one thing available in stock.

A cigarette was lit as the smoke trail laced into the air. The relief focused his breathing. The end lit with amber trails as Gareth took in another drag. Elizabeth came out of the bathroom, almost looking disgusted at first before she asked. “When did you start?” The heels of Gareth’s shoes against the picnic table while he looked to his sister briefly before closing his eyes as he exhaled. “Can’t remember. I was just…really stressed out and a friend at school gave me one.” He gave a light shrug before walking over to the bin and putting out the cigarette.

“Good, cause it’s not like you were cool or anything.” She said over the car hood before the two of them got back in and headed back onto the interstate. “Thanks. I needed to have that drilled in my head about now.” Elizabeth smirked lightly, knowing very well she could tease him about his car sickness moments.

Golden sun hit the edges of fields near the interstate, then faded as Sunset Bird came into view. “They’ll be glad to see us. It’s not like they have much else to do since they’re empty-nesters now.” Elizabeth still figured that after all of the time of them being away, the both of them would drop everything since the two of them showed up.

“Good thing we’re on break, I guess.” Gareth let his fingers lightly touch against his forehead, then into his hair. “Oh, I’m only around for the weekend. I just picked you up since you enjoy being around the beach and with your partner.” His heart pounded at Elizabeth’s words. She looked over briefly to see that he wasn’t as excited as she had hoped. “What? Were you asleep earlier when I told you? Cove’s going to be back for the weekend too.”

“Yeah. In and out I guess.” There was an indignant snort that was hardly ladylike, as Elizabeth playfully shoved Gareth’s shoulder. That begged the question of how much had changed in Sunset Bird since they had gone their own separate ways.

The truth of it all was that Gareth and Cove had stayed together despite the distance of schooling. It was regular for them to stay up half the night on calls together and Cove had already mentioned when he’d be getting to Sunset Bird. Not that he’d actively tell his sister. Cove slowly got out of a funk for public displays of affection when Gareth had really made a spectacle of himself at a charity event that made him feel like the first time they kissed all over again. Stretching as the beach came into view, “Man, that dream was really fucked up.” Gareth commented.


End file.
